Caskets traditionally comprise a shell to which is pivoted a cap or lid. During viewing of the deceased in the casket, the cap is of course pivoted to its open position to permit relatives, loved ones, acquaintances and the like to view the deceased. During this time the underside of the casket cap is visible. It is thus desirable to trim the underside of the cap with decorative trim. This has been traditionally accomplished with the installation of a dish assembly into the underside of the cap.
The traditional dish assembly has taken the form of a rectangular cap panel having two long sides and two short sides, with a puffing member being attached to each of the four sides. The cap panel is positioned in the casket cap atop a standoff, itself positioned in the cap, or atop a ridge or groove forming a part of the cap. The free edges of the puffing members are retained in a peripheral groove in the casket cap near the peripheral edge of the cap. The puffing members are so sized as to require them to assume a convex shape for their free edges to be retained in the peripheral groove. A rectangular cap panel insert, including decorative embroidery or the like, is installed between the four puffing members and in juxtaposition relative to the cap panel. Friction between the four puffing members and the four side edges of the cap panel insert has been employed to secure the cap panel insert into the dish assembly. This technique has not met with complete satisfaction as, depending on the force with which the cap closes upon the shell, the cap panel insert can become dislodged from the dish assembly and fall upon the deceased.
Other more elaborate means of securing the cap panel insert into the dish assembly have been employed. It is desirable however to employ a means of attachment which permits removable securement of the cap panel insert into the dish assembly to allow various inserts to be presented to a purchaser of the casket. Quite often, a customer will desire to view a number of different inserts in a dish assembly during the casket selection process, with each insert having a different embroidered pattern, or different fabric, thereon. Therefore it is desirable to be able to quickly remove one cap panel insert from the dish assembly of a casket cap and to replace it with another insert for selection purposes.
One technique for removably installing a cap panel insert into a dish assembly is disclosed in Winburn et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,357,741, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, and incorporated by reference herein as if fully set forth in its entirety. The Winburn patent discloses the use of a pair of elongated straps secured to a cap panel insert to facilitate installation of the insert into the dish assembly. The straps are spaced along the length of the insert and are fixedly or permanently secured to the insert near the lower ends of the straps. Near the upper ends of the straps the straps are removably secured to the insert via fasteners. The straps are longer than the height of the insert so that a portion of each strap protrudes above and below the top and bottom edges of the insert. To install the insert into a dish assembly, the bottom strap portions are inserted between the cap panel and the bottom puffing. The insert is angled outwardly from the cap, i.e. toward an installer, during which time the upper ends of the straps are not connected to the insert, and the top strap portions are inserted between the cap panel and the top puffing. The straps are flexible enough to allow bowing of the straps to slip the top strap portions into place. The insert is then pivoted into place against the cap panel and the fasteners attached to the insert are fastened to the fasteners attached near the upper ends of the straps. The straps cannot be permanently attached to the insert at both the upper and lower locations as the insert, normally fabricated of a rigid substrate, cannot be flexed or bowed to the extent required to slip the strap ends into place.
A difficulty associated with the Winburn technique is that an installer must work over the top edge of the cap panel insert, which is pivoted outwardly and into the face of the installer, to insert and remove the upper strap ends to and from between the cap panel and the top puffing. Thus installation is somewhat awkward and not as swiftly accomplished as would be desired.
Another technique for removably installing a cap panel insert into a dish assembly is disclosed in Lewis U.S. Pat. No. 5,675,877, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, and incorporated by reference herein as if fully set forth in its entirety. The Lewis patent discloses a dish assembly for a casket which comprises a generally rectangular cap panel having a pair of opposed sides, a puffing member attached to each side of the pair of sides along respective adjacent edges of the puffing member and side, a cap panel insert removably inserted between the puffing members and juxtaposed relative to the cap panel, a tab removably inserted between the respective adjacent edges of each attached puffing member and side, and a first portion of a fastener attached to the tab and a second portion of the fastener attached to the cap panel insert. The first and second portions of the fastener are removably secured one to another such that the cap panel insert is removably secured to the cap panel of the dish assembly. The fastener can be a hook and loop type fastener.
A difficulty associated with the Lewis technique is that sometimes the hook and loop fasteners hold the cap panel insert to the cap panel too well, making it somewhat difficult to quickly remove the cap panel insert for replacement with another insert. Another difficulty is that the tabs can become lost or misplaced.
Accordingly, improvements are still desired in the installation and removal of cap panel inserts into and from dish assemblies.